I wrote this on Facebook today:
How can you correctly interpret Romans if you don’t believe its foundational precepts? “Those who practice such things are worthy of death” (1:32) and “to those who by perseverance in well-doing seek for glory, honor, and incorruptibility, [God will repay” eternal life” (2:7).
Romans is about the miraculous provision God makes to turn sinners into obeyers, not the way Jesus turned his Father from justice to mercy.
God’s justice and mercy were always perfect. He did not and does not need salvation. We, on the other hand, practice such things as are worthy of death, so Jesus ransomed and purchased us so that we could be created in Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:10) to persevere in well-doing.
Romans 14:9: “For to this end Christ died, rose, and lived again, that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.”
In between 2:7 and 14:9, Paul did not switch to the subject of saving us from God’s justice by appeasing his wrath. No, we can only appease God’s wrath by Christ living in us throughout our lives (Rom. 5:9-10; Eph. 5:3-7).
Maybe the best way to try to verify what I have written here is to read Romans 8:1-13, but chapters 5 and 6 are clear on this matter as well.
About Paul Pavao
I am married, the father of six, and currently the grandfather of five. I teach, and I am always trying to learn to disciple others better than I have before. I believe God has gifted me to restore proper theological foundations to the Christian faith. In order to ensure that I do not become a heretic, I read the early church fathers from the second and third centuries. They were around when all the churches founded by the apostles were in unity.
My philosophy for Bible reading is to understand each verse for exactly what it says in its local context. Only after accepting the verse for what it says do I compare it with other verses to develop my theology. If other verses seem to contradict a verse I just read, I will wait to say anything about those verses until I have an explanation that allows me to accept all the verses for what they say. This takes time, sometimes years, but eventually I have always been able to find something that does not require explaining verses away. The early church fathers have helped a lot with this.
I argue and discuss these foundational doctrines with others to make sure my teaching really lines up with Scripture. I am encouraged by the fact that the several missionaries and pastors that I know well and admire as holy men love the things I teach. I hope you will be encouraged too.
I am indeed tearing up old foundations created by tradition in order to re-establish the foundations found in Scripture and lived on by the churches during their 300 years of unity.
There are a lot of opinions and rumors about Constantine, the Council of Nicea, and the events of the fourth century that changed Christianity to Christendom. Not only will you get the incredible story, with all its twists, plots, and intrigues, but you will find out how history is done and never wonder what is true again.
The Rest of the Old, Old Story 